Left in the Dark
by MadameLupin
Summary: During Shawn Takes a Shot in the Dark. When Shawn's missing and presumed injured the people that know him best take stock of the moment and introspect. Drabbles.


**A/N:** I watched the mid-season finale the other day. Excellent episode. One of their best. Can't wait for January, but until then, fanfiction will just have to tide us over.

This story wouldn't stop bugging me. Just some snippets of what the _other _characters might have been thinking during the episode. Including Karen because it bugged me that she was excluded.

The grammar errors are a combination of Microsoft Word and myself. I do love commas and I'm not afraid to admit it.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Psych. Or anything affiliated with it.

* * *

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Binshot not lol

Only Shawn would text gibberish and expects that Gus would instantly understand. Shawn seemed to forget that not everyone's mind worked in the same quick fire connection-reaction way his did.

Gus swore that if this was another one of Shawn's jokes he wouldn't interfere with the reprimand that Lassiter was sure to give. Shawn earned the detective's ire for sure this time. Yet Gus couldn't stop that nagging feeling in his gut.

This didn't fit the pattern of Shawn's practical jokes, and Gus wasn't usually left in the dark like this.

Where was Shawn? He loved nothing more then seeing the pay off to a joke. If this was one.

_Binshot not lol_

"What are you playing with over there?"

Juliet seemed far away only existing in a parallel universe that Gus wasn't privy to. A world where one could stay rational and calm at a time like this. Something wasn't right and the answer eluded him.

What was Shawn trying to tell him?

_Binshot Binshot_

What did that even mean? Leave it to Shawn to be confusing when he needed to be direct.

It was four in the morning and Shawn said he'd meet them here. Gus assumed it was a break in the Ice Cream Truck Caper. Here _they_ were and _Shawn _was not. If Gus knew Shawn, and he did, Shawn would never leave him hanging like this. Not without a good reason.

His friend hadn't flaked this bad in years. Something was wrong.

_Binshot been shot Binshot been shot_

"It's blood." Lassiter declared from a few feet away.

Gus' stomach clenched, luckily he hadn't eaten anything or he would've thrown up.

"Shawn's been shot."

* * *

  
Henry taught Shawn everything the kid knew and then some. He had made sure to train his son to be a cop. In no uncertain terms Henry Spencer made it clear to his only son that he was expected to follow in his footsteps and Shawn Spencer decided that he was going to be everything his father didn't expect.

He had tried to impart the knowledge no matter how unwilling the pupil and Shawn was the most unwilling student in history. The kid had fought him every step of the way resisting every lesson only paying attention when it suited him.

During those times Henry had silently prayed for patience. He always settled for the all encompassing that he'd thank Henry for it, someday and apparently that far off someday was today.

What Shawn never knew, what he'd never allow himself to comprehend was that Henry wished that time would never come. Not like this. He wanted it to be on his terms, but when did Shawn ever do anything one Henry's terms?

In spite of him or maybe _because_ of him here that moment was. It was staring him in the face and breathing down his back.

Shawn shot, missing, stuffed in a trunk, leaving them with only an indecipherable text message holding the clues to his location.

_ocone yreflex psig_

He took little comfort in the fact he'd taught Shawn how to survive (hoping against hope that something had stuck to the fly paper of his son's brain) and escape. It just so happened that during all those lessons Henry had forgotten to teach himself how to deal with the other side of the situation. He hated himself for that.  


* * *

Karen Vick had known from the start what she was getting with Shawn Spencer. Henry had made his opinion on his son very clear. She saw things differently then her friend.

Shawn was restless, flighty at times but he was capable and she thought would thrive at being trusted and relied upon not to mention he needed something that offered him the ability to create his own rules within the rules.

Simply he needed a job that changed as often as he did and something that his dad didn't want him to do.

With all those things in mind she offered him a consulting position with the department. For all the moments of annoyance she hadn't regretted the decision.

Life with Shawn Spencer made her work a little more exciting.

While she didn't believe for a second that Spencer was a psychic Karen fully believed he was the best damn detective she ever had the privilege of working with. The man brought being observant and able to draw connections to a level she never thought possible.

Somehow he had become her ace in the hold.

Karen was out of town when Lassiter's call came. Her mother was seriously ill and her sister was unable to come to her rescue for another week or so.

Damn the Coast Guard to hell.

Shawn Spencer was missing and presumed injured. If Shawn died, as was likely given the fact the most violent kidnappings ended badly, it was on her head.

His blood would be on her hands.

* * *

Juliet O'Hara prided herself on being able to handle tense and potentially dangerous situations with a clear head and steady hand. It was one reason she was such a good officer. Not to say she was perfect. Juliet had limitations and she recognized that fact. This situation though was pushing her towards a breaking point.

Shawn Spencer was going to be the death of her.

Her mind kept recalling with astonishing clarity every missed chance, every lame joke, every moment where Shawn wormed his way into her heart. Sometimes life just wasn't fair and this was one of those times.

She couldn't afford to screw this up. Not with Shawn's life on the line. Even if she wanted to scream with frustration, pull and tear at her hair, cry until no more tears would come but that wouldn't help anyone.

Gus had brought her a muffin earlier in an effort to get her to eat. She hadn't touched it. Not when she could hear Shawn joke about how uncanny it was that the muffin was identical to Officer Phillips waist line.

* * *

Once upon a time Carlton Lassiter had seen the world in only black and white. He only saw the badge and with it the law and order it provided. Just one reason on the laundry list of reasons Victoria had ended their marriage.

He was rigid with his life he embodied the motto: a place for everything and everything a place.

Until Shawn Spencer had sauntered into entered his life with that ever present smirk, over involved jokes, not to mention nicknames (no matter if it was somehow a backhanded compliment) and with him he'd taken away Carlton's last bit of delusion.

Now he understood and maybe accepted that the world had shades of grey, the grey being Shawn Spencer of course.

But somewhere down the line he'd become Lassie and now he had to rescue Timmy from the well, hopefully alive, just so he could do it all over again.


End file.
